Drinking-cup package



L. E. ERICKSON.

- DRINKING CUP PACKAGE.

APPucmoN Hun FEB- 4, 1920.

1 ,354,81 0, Patenwi Oct. 5, 192 0 rsar oFFicE.

CLAUS EDWARD ERICKSON, 0F DES MOINES, IO iVA.

DRINKING-CUP PACKAGE.

Application filed February 4, .1920.

To aZZ 10 7mm it may con cern Be it known that I, CLAUSE. ERIonsoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Drinking-Cup Package, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a drinkin cup package composed of a plurality of drinking cups having slots out along certain lines so arranged that the connecting portions are on opposite sides.

of upwardly projecting smoothly curved parts, so that when the cups are torn away one at a time, the upwardly curved portions may be used to form a spout free from ragged edges.

A further object is to provide such a packet having a plurality of such drinking cups bound together above the slots and bound into a cover for protecting the cups, and adapted to receive advertising matter on its outer surface.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the constru'ctioinuarrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a package of drinking cups embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the same, the cover being shown raised in dotted lines, and one of the cups being shown in dotted lines detached from the package.

Fig. 3 shows a detail, sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. a shows a perspective view of one of the cups detached and opened for use.

I will first describe one of the cups forming part of my package.

In the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate generally the cup, which is preferably made of suitable paper and is formed with two sides A and B folded over at their bottom edges and formed integral with each other.

The edges of the side B are folded from the side edges of the side A at 11, and are scaled to the side A in any suitable way.

The cups are arranged in packets of five, ten, or a dozen cups more or less, and are Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

Serial No. 356,158.

. superposed one upon the other, as illustrated for instance in Figs. 1 and 2.

The slots 12 are then cut in the cups near their sioe edges from the side edges to points lying inwardly of the overlapping edges 11, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

A central longer slot 13 is cut in the cups and is curved from its central portion clownwardly and laterally, as illustrated in Fig. 3, so as to allow an upwardly projecting smooth edge portion adjacent to the lower line of said slot 13.

The cups arethen received within a cover comprising the back member 14, the front member 15 and the packet connecting men1- ber 16. V

l Vire clips or the like 17 are then extended through the cover members and through the cups above the slots therein for fastening the cups together inside the cover in a compact package.

The upper ends of the cups will thereby be held closed, so that no dust or dirt can get to the inside of the cups and the cups will be protected to a very large extent by the cover members 1 1- and 15.

The package may be carried in the pocket. When it is desired to detach one of the cups, the front cover member 15 is raised, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, permitting access to the lower part of the cup lying uppermost in the series. The uppermost cup is grasped between the fingers and pulled away from its top portion and from the cover, tearin the lower portion of the cup away from its upper portion by tearing the connecting portions C between the slot 13 and the respective slots 12.

The cup will then be pressed inwardly at its side edges for causing the upper edges of the cup to separate and assume the positions substantially as shown in Fig. 4.

It will be seen that I have provided a packet in which a plurality of the cups may be conveniently carried in the pocket and which when not in use will be properly protected, especially the upper or open ends of the cups are held tightly closed until the cup is detached from the package.

The cover serves as a protecting device, and also as a medium for carrying advertising such as that illustrated in Fig. 1, or for conveying any desired information.

The cups, while fastened in the packet in the cover, are provided with the slots 12 and 13 such as are shown in the drawings,

and which are so arranged that the central slot 13 has the peculiar shape illustrated.

By providing the'cup'swith the slots, as shown, the outer slots will projectthrough I the double walls formed by the overlapping the slot 13, and making the slot 13 relatively long the drinking'spout is made'quite smooth.

I thus have the advantage of fastening the cups in a series in a cover, and I pro-' vide a'smoothspout for drinking, and provide such connections between the upper and lower parts of the cup that the lower parts may be easily torn out without tearing the of the other of saidmembers, said cups becups, without interference from the overlapping edges 11, and in such a way as to retain the smooth spout.

I claim as my invention A drinking cup package comprising a series of drinking cups, each having a back and a front member, one of said members having side edges overlappingthe side edges ing superposed one upon the other; a cover device comprising top, front and back members'; means for fastening said front and 'backcover members and said cups together near -theupperedges of the cups, the open end-of'the cover being at the bottom of the cups, said cups having near their side edges slots extending inwardly beyond the over-3 lapping side edges above referred to, and

having in their'cent'ral upper portions rela- 45 tively long slots curved from their central portions downwardly and laterally so as to leave relatively narrow connecting 'm'em-- bers between the relatively long slots, and the slots at the side of the cup.

' Des Moines, Iowa, November 18, 1919.

'CLAUS EDVARD ERICKSON. 

